middle east

MINT PRESS NEWS
In the Iraqi city of Mosul, local residents have retrieved almost 300 bodies from underneath buildings that were leveled by a U.S. airstrike that took place on March 17.
The strike killed hundreds as part of an attempt by a U.S.-led coalition to combat Daesh (ISIS) forces by bombing their network of tunnels.
Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, a senior U.S. commander in Iraq, admitted to The New York Times that, as of now, ”the initial assessment is that we probably had a role in ...

FOX NEWS
Iran threatened to shoot down two US Navy surveillance aircraft flying close to Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf over the weekend, the latest in a series of recent provocations between Iran and the US military in the region, three US defense officials with knowledge of the incident told Fox News.
On Sept. 10, a Navy P-8 Poseidon with a crew of nine and an EP-3 Eries with a crew of roughly 24, were flying a reconnaissance mission 13 miles off the coast of Iran, through the Per...

Last week, lawmakers adopted China's first-ever dedicated anti-terrorism law. The new law's most interesting provision, as far as foreign observers are concerned, is an article authorizing the Chinese military to take part in counter-terrorism missions abroad. Will China now join the Syrian, Russian and Iranian-led anti-terror campaign in Syria?
On Thursday, commenting on China's new counterterrorism law, and specifically its provision allowing the People's Liberation Army to participate in a...

A man rammed his car into four soldiers guarding a mosque in the French city of Valence Friday, local officials said.
The soldiers were not seriously injured and were able to open fire on the car, injuring the driver twice with bullets, Frédéric Loiseau, Secretary-General of the city prosecutors' office told NBC News.
The driver, whose motive was not immediately clear, was in the hospital, he said.
Valence is about 60 miles south of Lyon in southern France.
The target was the sol...

Persian Gulf leaders, led by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, are making their growing displeasure with the Obama administration known and searching for ways to ensure their security in an era when they might not be able to rely on the United States.
Many observers here are worried that the gulf countries’ alliances with Washington that have served for decades as a linchpin of regional order are fraying as President Obama presses for a nuclear agreement with Iran that could greatly empower a regi...